Thursday 21 January 2016

Are you one of our members? Do you sell your creations on Etsy? Join Us!




Registered members of the Professional Crafters Guild can now join our dedicated PCG Etsy Team! 

The team has been created to provide support and advice to those of our members who have shops on the popular handmade selling site.  Together, we aim to create our own Etsy community whereby our members can help each other to expand and advance in their businesses.  Joining the team will give you the opportunity to take part in a variety of networking games and promotional activities, with team activities extending to our Twitter and Facebook accounts for even more exposure for your craftbiz!

To join The Professional Crafters Guild Team please apply here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/teams/27644/the-professional-crafters-guild-team
You will need to have your PCG Registered Member number to hand to complete your application.





Wednesday 20 January 2016

We had a Q & A sessions with Guild Member Bead Bitz



It’s a new year and a time when as business owners you review your business and decide what you will be working on over the following year, any changes you need to make and so on. For Karen at Bead Bitz, 2015 was the year she made changes to increase her potential to earn a better wage. Karen also joined TheProfessional Crafter’s Guild. This Q+A with Karen will show that you can change your business for the better and hopefully provide you with tips on how to do that.

Q: How long have you been in business?
A: Bead Bitz has been established for about 3 years.  However at the beginning of 2015 I made a conscious decision to develop it and move it to the next level.

Q: Why did you want to change aspects of your business and why do it at the beginning of the year?
A: It was a case of use it or lose it – I enjoy the craft work I do and I have been paid many compliments on the quality, design etc.  In addition I had some success in selling items.  It is a long held desire to have a part time income from this business – so in order to achieve that I had to either move forward or do nothing.
2015 was at a time in my life when I felt the most confident and positive to be able to do this.  The name was gaining a small amount of recognition so it was as if all the forces were coming together to do this.

Q: How did you prepare for changing your business?
A: I finalised the business cards – came up with a small business plan, which included what sales I wanted to make – what fairs I would attend etc and went about trying to achieve it.

Q: What has changing your business done for you?
A: It has given the business a better profile – higher sales and more regular viewers on my Facebook page.  It  has made me realise that I need to get the website changed and updated (this one I am struggling with due to lack of knowledge).   I have a better idea of what arena I want to be in and how to go about getting there.  2016 will be a continuation of the same with an intention to capitalise on the lessons I have learnt through this year.

Karen has made some great points here, you can’t make changes unless you know what you need to do. So;

  • Make a plan of what you want to achieve for the year.
  • Set yourself goals of when you would like to achieve each point on your plan.

  • For each point, jot down ideas on how you can achieve it (It may also be a good idea to look back on 2015 and see what didn’t work and cutting lose things that take up your time and don’t produce results you want).

  •  Put your ideas into practise !

Blog post created by Sarah O’Connell

Tuesday 19 January 2016

CRAFTfest is back!

The Professional Crafters Guild is proud to announce that it will be sponsoring the return of CRAFTfest!

Many of our members have taken part in these fabulous online events since the very first one back in 2010. Due to popular demand we now see the return of CRAFTfest after a years break with a revamped experience and a wealth of enthusiasm. For full information please visit
http://craftfest-events.com/how-it-works.html

New changes include:
  • Less setting up than ever before as the events are no longer held on the Creative Connections network.
  • The ability to link directly to anywhere on the internet. All visitors go straight to your website, online store, networking page etc.
  • Complete control over what your visitors see when they arrive.
  • An all new Facebook group to meet fellow CRAFTfesters and gain help and support from the team.
  • Marketing, tutoring, community spirit, fun! All this for £5!
The booking forms are open for the Best of British Event which is taking place on 26th - 28th February 2016. BOOK HERE http://craftfest-events.com/booking-form.html

The current event is for UK based sellers only. If you live in the USA or Australia please let us know if you would be interested in taking part in CRAFTfest in your country.

Members of the PCG will have an extra linked logo on their virtual stall link for the event so that visitors can see that you are registered with the Guild.  This is a fabulous marketing exercise and we look forward to seeing many of you taking part.


Wednesday 6 January 2016

A day at the Guild - 5th January 2016

Congratulations on upgrading your membership!

 Member No: 180814616
Julie Harris from Watercolours and Lace
Hand painted designer yarns in luxury natural fibres, knitting and crochet designs and kits, threads for embroidery and lacemaking, project bags, beaded stitch markers.
 
 
 
-♦-

Member No: 290615715
Vicky Hibberd from Vicky Hibberd Silversmith
Handcrafted Silver jewellery
 
 
 

Tuesday 5 January 2016

Start the New Year with some FREE Marketing!

Happy New Year!

We are determined that 2016 is going to be a great year for our Guild and have a full list of exciting and helpful events, tools and information lined up to help you with your business. These will be added to our website for our subscribed members so keep your eyes open on our social networking sites for them appearing.

The first three sections of your 2016 business folder are already available for download.

  • 2015 review
  • January Worksheet
  • Monthly Worksheet
Our January publication will be published mid month and we are on the lookout for information from you all about your businesses. This is a fabulous marketing opportunity so please let us know if any (or all) of the below categories include your business.

• News about your business.
• Awards and achievements.
• Craft fairs and events you are attending.
• In the press?
• Send us great customer feedback that you have received.
• Images of new products for us to consider including.
• Your business New Years resolutions.


As always, members will full membership are also included in our directory of businesses within the publication. Upgrades are discounted for our basic members who would like extra promotion and Guild help with their businesses this year. Find more information on upgrading here for crafters and here for suppliers. There is now no longer a difference in price for these two different options so if your business spans both it could be worth considering adding an extra category.

For anyone that missed our last newsletter in December I would like to reiterate that we no longer offer the basic membership option to new members. Everyone will be joining us on our full membership (formerly premium) level. Existing Basic members are assured that their listing on our website and inclusion in our Facebook Club will continue but you can no longer sign in to our on site area as this is now reserved for full membership.

Monday 4 January 2016

What do you do with your Christmas cards each January?



On the 5th January 2016, it’s time to take down your Christmas decorations and pack them away until December again, but what do you do with your Christmas cards? If you normally throw them out with the rubbish then think again as there are useful activities you can do instead.



  • Your local Marks and Spencer will have a Christmas card bin in partnership with the Woodland Trust. For every 1000 cards that are recycled, a new tree will be planted in the UK. You can recycle your cards between 2nd and 31st January 2016.

  • I normally give mine to local card makers, as the cards can be cut up to make new cards. If you are on Facebook, you may be able to find a local selling page where you can post a request for someone to collect the cards from you.
  •  Some PCG members told me that they create gift tags using the cards and use cards for scrapbooking.
Do you know any other ways to re-use your Christmas cards, or know of any more stores that are taking part in the recycling scheme? Just let Anna know, so that she can update the blog post. Furthermore we’d love to see some photos of what you’ve done with your cards.
Post written by Sarah O’Connell